Packers’ Pressure Neutralizes Vick

The Packers’ Quinn Johnson trying to elude Ernie Sims. Green Bay, with long drives by its offense and frequent blitzes by its defense, held the dynamic Eagles quarterback Michael Vick in check.Credit
Matt Slocum/Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA — Despite the exhilarating play of Michael Vick in a redemptive season, the Eagles were left Sunday with a 21-16 playoff defeat to Green Bay and one extremely inconvenient fact: even though quarterback Donovan McNabb was traded to Washington, his designated replacement Kevin Kolb was benched after a concussion and Vick was put into the lineup with often stunning results, Philadelphia won one fewer game this season than last.

Again, the Eagles (10-7) exited in the wild-card round of the playoffs, left with as many questions as answers, including what to do with Vick, whose contract expires, and Kolb, who lost another year of development.

Meanwhile, the patient and mobile Aaron Rodgers won his first playoff game as Green Bay’s quarterback. He completed 18 of 27 passes for 180 yards and 3 touchdown passes against a porous Eagles defense that surrendered 34 touchdowns through the air this season.

Green Bay (11-6) will travel to Atlanta on Saturday for a divisional matchup, encouraged that the emergent running back James Starks set a Packers rookie playoff rushing record with 123 yards on 23 carries.

Vick’s future remains uncertain. The Eagles could place a franchise tag on him, sign him to a long-term contract or simply let him go, which seems highly unlikely.

“I hope so,” Vick said of returning to Philadelphia, “but in this business, you never know. I’m going to stay optimistic and keep believing. I feel I can play at a high level for the next couple of years.”

Philadelphia’s season changed greatly in its opener last September, when Green Bay linebacker Clay Matthews pummeled Kolb, leaving him with a concussion and returning him to a backup role behind the revived Vick.

Photo

The Packers’ Tramon Williams intercepted a pass in the end zone intended for Riley Cooper, ending the Eagles’ final threat.Credit
Gary Hershorn/Reuters

Public reaction to Vick’s ascendancy was mixed. He had spent 18 months in prison for operating a dogfighting ring. But as a football player this season, he was thinner, faster, more adept as a passer than he had ever been, and familiarly threatening on the run. He became a candidate for the league’s most valuable player.

His slight frame took a repeated pounding, though, and defenses grew more forceful with blitzes late in the season. Vick’s passing became less accurate, and he sometimes seemed too eager to take off running. He sustained a thigh contusion two weeks ago and limped at times on Sunday.

Vick was sacked three times and flushed from the pocket repeatedly as he completed 20 of 36 passes for 292 yards and a touchdown. With 33 seconds remaining, he threw a poor pass into the end zone that was intercepted, killing a potential winning drive for the Eagles.

Still, the defeat could hardly be pinned on Vick, who brought hope and excitement to a season that was considered beforehand to be a rebuilding one in Philadelphia.

On Sunday, Green Bay was miserly on its scoring drives, keeping Vick off the field for long stretches. Rodgers put the Packers ahead, 14-0, on a 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tom Crabtree late in the first quarter and a 9-yarder to receiver James Jones with 5 minutes 21 seconds remaining in the first half.

David Akers, the usually reliable Eagles kicker, missed field-goal attempts of 41 and 34 yards on a windy day. Philadelphia’s defense was porous and depleted by injury; its makeshift offensive line was erratic. Right tackle Winston Justice struggled at times against the blitzing Matthews. He committed two infractions on the same play in the third quarter and was eventually benched.

With 7:33 left in the third quarter, Green Bay took a 21-10 lead on a 16-yard screen pass from Rodgers to running back Brandon Jackson. Still, Vick and the Eagles were resilient. He sneaked into the end zone from the 1 with 4:02 remaining in the game, drawing the Eagles to 21-16.

There were reports, unconfirmed, that a Philadelphia trainer tried to take Vick’s helmet away because of the injury. Vick said only, “Nothing was going to stop me from going back out.”

With 1:45 remaining after a punt, Philadelphia began a final drive from its 34. Vick was confident.

“I had an upbeat feeling about myself,” he said. “I felt like I was in control.”

He passed to DeSean Jackson for 28 yards, then to Riley Cooper for 11 more. Quickly, the Eagles were at the Green Bay 27. On first down, Vick threw to the left side of the end zone for Cooper, but his pass was underthrown and intercepted by cornerback Tramon Williams with 33 seconds left.

“I got greedy,” Vick said, explaining that he should have dumped the ball to a running back. “It’s a bad way to go out, but, hey, I went down swinging.”

He unsnapped his chin strap in disappointment, a comeback and an expectant season having come up short of his Super Bowl dream.

“This one hurt more” than any previous ending, Vick said. “I expected so much out of myself. It was a great season, but that’s not enough.”

Correction: January 12, 2011

An article on Monday about the Green Bay Packers’ victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday misstated, in some copies, the Packers’ next opponent in the N.F.L. playoffs. They play the Atlanta Falcons on Saturday — not the Chicago Bears, who play the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday.

A version of this article appears in print on January 10, 2011, on page D1 of the New York edition with the headline: Packers’ Pressure Neutralizes Vick. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe